


As stars begin burning

by cherrywongs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic Fluff, Drunken Kissing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Roommates, Swearing, they are broke but somehow spend too much money who cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24904258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrywongs/pseuds/cherrywongs
Summary: The only way to avoid being caught in a lie is making an even bigger lie or that is what Renjun thinks.When Renjun's brother came to visit and he had to ask Donghyuck to be his (fake) boyfriend —for not very smart reasons—, he couldn't have imagined what his week would bring.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 109





	As stars begin burning

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to write a renhyuck since long ago and I finally got myself into doing it. this is my longest fic until now and im kind of proud of it regardless of how dumb it is? so i hope you like it too!

Renjun enjoyed his alone time. To be fair, his life was a little chaotic for his taste. Although his major was not a very popular one and his classmates were mostly calm, he worked as an unpaid intern in the biggest design firm in the city and somehow every single employee was an extrovert except for him, and on top of that was his job in an art academy teaching little kids how to mix colors and draw cows on weekends.

For that very reason, his friends always wondered why he chose to live with Donghyuck, who liked hanging out more than anyone he had ever met. But there was a thing people didn’t know about: when he was home, Donghyuck became the most silent he could ever be. He would joke about their friendship being mostly “parallel playing”, and Renjun liked that about him.

“Honey, I’m home!” Another fact about Renjun, he didn’t like people screaming at him. There was also the fact that they lived in a tiny apartment with a 6 square feet bathroom, two rooms where other things than their beds could barely fit, a living that had their sofa and tv, as well as a dining table, and a kitchen where three people couldn’t stand without it looking like the most uncomfortable conga line ever; so it was completely unnecessary.

“Over here, dumbass.” Donghyuck peeked over the bathroom door just to see his roommate cleaning the floor with an old toothbrush and bleach. The tiles were a whole different color the one he saw and the morning. 

Renjun stopped his movements and looked at Donghyuck, who was giving him a mocking smirk.

“Spending Friday night the best you can, huh?”

“I couldn’t bear to look at it anymore,” he said, suppressing a sigh and shaking his head. “I know we’ve been extremely busy this semester but our last _clean the whole house day_ was many weeks ago. The whole place was horrible!”

“How long have you been here?”

“Three, maybe four.” Donghyuck raised an eyebrow. “Hours.”

Donghyuck smiled and offered his hand to help Renjun get up. He put on a frown before giving in and taking it. Donghyuck knew he was getting his clothes wet and dirty, and probably ruined too, so he was glad none of his _night classes pants_ were good ones and that he owned dozens of shirts, he wouldn’t miss any of them.

“I’ll finish this for you, go lay on the floor while I’m done and pick something to eat. We’ll order food once you shower.”

Donghyuck moved aside to let Renjun out of the service and he passed him the cleaning tools as he walked past him. 

“I don’t want to shower, I have to shower tomorrow morning.”

“Do whatever you want, stinky man. But change your clothes before you sit anywhere that could get a stain.”

“Count on it, mom.”

He heard Renjun walking to his room and closing the door. He breathed deeply and rolled his pants’ legs. He had just finished midterms, and he was celebrating washing bleach off of tiles.

Lying wasn’t Renjun's strong point, but he never thought it was his _weak point._ He knew lying to get things was a horrible thing to do, but there are times when one can’t help and do so because humans are shallow and egoistic.

If there was someone who could get his back, in any situation, it was Donghyuck. When he got back to campus he only had to find him, ask him to do him a favor, and hope he wouldn’t laugh at him. Not that the last part was an easy one.

“Renjun?”

He looked up, finding a concerned Ten looking at him. He was his favorite coworker and the only one who he spent time with outside office without hating every second of it.

“Yeah?” 

Ten pointed at him with his tablet stylus’ pen and squinted his eyes.

“I’m talking to you, would you mind paying attention to it?”

Renjun smiled and lowered the accusing hand in front of him.

“I’m sorry. I’m a little distracted.”

Ten tilted his head and moved closed to Renjun.

“I can see that, is everything okay?”

Renjun moved in his sit, uncomfortable.

“Everything is perfectly okay.” 

Ten smiled, caressed Renjun's hand, and right away hit his head with the pen. Damaging office supplies and electronic devices was against the company’s rules, Renjun wondered if he was the only one who followed them.

“So can you focus and help me choose what we are doing for the new Radio Show campaign?”

He smiled and turned on his screen, where their shared archives showed how little work they’d done that day.

“Sure, what colors are we using?”

Ten bit the inside of his cheek and counted to three, reminding himself that murder was a crime.

“If only you’d been listening to me.”

“There he is, my roomie, the boy who I share pots with!”

Some people turned around and Renjun smiled politely at them, he stretched his arm out to slap Donghyuck at the back of his head.

At the same time he sat in front of them Renjun greeted Donghyuck and his friend. As much as he tried he couldn’t remember his name. Maybe Jeyden?

“Hey, how was class?”

“Well, we just got our Psychology exams back,” Jeremy said. “So I would say not good.”

Renjun frowned. 

“You didn’t do good?” Jean-Baptiste and Donghyuck passed him their tests and he scanned them looking for their grades. 71 an 66. There were a few red marks all over the paper and he was glad he took the class with a different lecturer. “Damn, is there any extra credit so you can raise your score?”

Donghyuck fake smiled.

“Guess what it is.”

“A boring conference?”

Jet showed his jazz hands with a straight face and Donghyuck and Renjun snorted.

“Bingo.”

“That sounds great, I bet you will learn a lot about Freud and his morbid theories.”

Jennifer faked a gag and Donghyuck rolled his eyes. Renjun chuckled and handed them back their papers.

“Quit frowning, you big babies. I’ll treat you expensive ice cream that isn’t worth it.”

Donghyuck smiled, thanking him. They stood up and walked out of the studying room. 

"By the way, my name is Jeno."

After leaving Jeno at the dorms they walked together to their building. It was located a couple of blocks away from campus. Renjun asked to go to the convenience store but Donghyuck was tired, and he said they’d do the household shopping the weekend.

“That’s the thing, Hyuckie. We need to get food before tomorrow's lunch.”

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows.

“I can do it in the morning,” he promised. “But why is that?”

Renjun kicked a bottle out of his way and Donghyuck hummed. Renjun rolled his eyes and picked it up. 

“My brother is coming to town.”

Donghyuck took the bottle and put it in his backpack, Renjun thanked him with a smile.

“Is he staying with us?”

Renjun put his hands in his pocket and sighed.

“I hope not, because that would be an even bigger problem.”

Donghyuck chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

Renjun stopped walking and Donghyuck stopped too, turning to look him in the eye.

“Can you do me a favor?”

Donghyuck put his hands together and took them below his chin.

“Are you aware of how ominous you sound right now?”

Renjun giggled and took Donghyuck’s wrists to move his arms to his sides.

“I always do.”

“Know what? You’re right.”

Donghyuck put his arm around Renjun and made him start walking.

“So, here’s my dilemma: I may have told my mother a little white lie.”

“And you want me to cover you on it.”

“See? This is why I’m asking you this and no one else.”

“What do you want me to do?"

Renjun held Donghyuck's hand between his hands. If there was something Renjun was good at, it was manipulating people. But Donghyuck didn't mind, he also did an amazing job revising his essays when he was too stressed to proofread them.

“Fake being my boyfriend while Sicheng is around, pretty please, with a cherry on top?”

“What kind of lie did you tell your mom that would need me to fake date you?”

“Remember how last year there was a sale in the electronics store, and I bought the switch and some games?” Donghyuck nodded, hiding a smile. “Well, I didn’t have enough money for it. And I know I’ve said I hate asking my parents for money if I don’t really need it, because _eat the rich_ , right? But it wasn’t that much, and I’d been wanting to own a switch since it came out and I was sure there was not going to be another chance to get it.”

“Oh my god. You did not!”

“So I called my mom and told her I was having my three months anniversary with my boyfriend and didn’t have money to take him on a cute date. And she was _so_ upset I couldn’t celebrate _such_ an important date with my first boyfriend ever.”

“But you have dated before.”

“She doesn’t need to know that.”

“That makes it two lies.”

"Perhaps... So, after that, I thought she would be sad to hear I had broken up with someone she spent $100 on, so when she called and asked for my boyfriend I’d always say he was doing great.”

“Did she ever ask what his name is?”

“I guess she was just happy to know I’m being loved.”

“Ugh. Never say that again.” 

Donghyuck pushed him away and Renjun smiled

“So, will you be my 8 month-ish boyfriend in front of my brother?”

“I mean, yes. But you will have to ask our friends to keep the secret too.”

“Good thing they are scared of me, isn’t it?”

The next morning Renjun and Donghyuck left the apartment at the same time. Renjun had 8 am classes, and Donghyuck was going to the market to buy things so Renjun could come before noon and cook lunch for him and his brother. Donghyuck had classes from 10 to 6 so they wouldn’t see each other until night.

It was not that Renjun didn’t trust Donghyuck and his buying skills, but he wasn’t sure he heard him while talking about the things Sicheng hated to eat, or worse, he could’ve been listening and consciously buy those things just to annoy him.

As soon as his professor said they could leave Renjun picked up his bag and walked out of the classroom to run home. He got there at 20 before 12. His sibling’s flight arrived at 12:40 and it was a 25 minutes ride to the airport. It wasn’t a lot of time, but it was enough to cook something nice and be on time to pick Sicheng up.

Sicheng wasn’t a snitch, and Renjun certainly liked him a lot, but he was very protective of their parents, and he took his role as the oldest son very seriously, sometimes turning Renjun funny stories into lectures. So not only he wanted him to enjoy his stay because he loved him, but he also wanted to evade making Sicheng disappointed, for however that case could turn out as.

Renjun felt much better when he saw the bags in the kitchen counter, with a smiley post-it on them, telling him to have fun and eat well. 

_By the way, meat is in the fridge! We don’t want flies to think this is a nice place to live._

He took his phone out to text Donghyuck a cheesy gif of a cat saying _I love you_ and started peeling potatoes with a smile on his face.

He arrived at the airport at 12:45, and he had to wait 10 minutes for his brother to come out, as he had lost his suitcase.

“Why did you bring so much luggage?” Renjun asked, helping him put it inside the cab.

“Why don’t you have a car?”

“So how are mom and dad?”

Sicheng giggled and gave their driver a cheerful ‘good afternoon, sir!’

“They are doing great, Jun. How have you been?”

“You know, college and stuff.” Sicheng drew a smile in his face and rest his head on his shoulder. “Are you hungry?”

Sicheng closed his eyes and nodded.

“I’m starving.”

Renjun smiled and petted his hair.

“Who would’ve thought you could cook decent ribs soup?”

Renjun placed the plates on the table to make noise and Sicheng smiled.

“Excuse me? I make great ribs soup.”

Before Renjun could pick up the plates his brother got up and took them. He walked to the kitchen and Renjun followed him carrying the empty vases.

“Where did you learn how to cook, by the way? Back at home, you could barely make tea.”

“So, are you the only one allowed to learn new things in school?”

Renjun placed everything in the sink and Sicheng opened the tap and started washing the dishes without letting him protest about it.

“You took culinary?”

“Last year. Got a 100.”

“Congrats.”

“Thank you.” He smiled and breathed heavily. “So mom told me you were coming for work?”

“My boss wanted me to come to an event they are holding the weekend, and as my baby brother lives here I asked for some days off so I could spend some time with you.” Renjun put a beam on his face and Sicheng smiled. “So, am I finally going to meet your boyfriend?”

Renjun had never talked to Sicheng about his non-existent boyfriend. They usually didn’t talk about boys, but he guessed his mother would tell him about it, she’d probably said something like “make sure you get to know that boy that is dating my son” before dropping him at the airport. He could almost hear her.

“You already know him.”

“Oh! Who is it?”

“Donghyuck.”

“Your roommate?” Renjun looked away and nodded. Sicheng raised his eyebrows. “Well, when you said you were moving from the students’ residence because you found a nice place for only a little higher rent I thought you were being honest.”

“I was! Having a curfew in the dorms was really dumb, anyway, why do they have a 24-hours library if you can’t enter your room past midnight?”

“Do you walk down these roads at 2 am?”

“This is the university district, there is not a moment of the day in which a radius of 5 blocks isn’t full of people.”

“It still sounds dangerous.” Renjun rolled his eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t move out because you wanted to live with your boyfriend? You could’ve said that.”

“I did not.” He closed the tap. “I can finish this. Why don’t you go rest up in my room? You seem tired.” 

Sicheng moved away pressing his lips together and walked out the kitchen.

The afternoon became silent. Sicheng’s hotel did check-in’s at 5 so they watched tv as they waited for it to be time for him to go.

At 3:30, the door opened. Donghyuck carried a box of cookies and an order of take-out bubble tea.

“Hey, guys.” He smiled, crossing the room and handing Sicheng the cookies. “You like these, right? I hope you had a nice flight. It’s great having you with us.”

“Babe,” Renjun spoke, catching himself feeling weird about calling Donghyuck a pet name. “Did you finish class early?”

Donghyuck nodded, as he bent to put his lips on top of Renjun’s. 

“How was lunch?”

Renjun couldn’t think about an answer. His ears were beeping and Sicheng was already talking to Donghyuck.

“We had a great time, how was class?”

“Wait, before these get soggy. Which one would you prefer? I got both jello and tapioca pearls, as I didn’t know what you liked.”

“Any is fine by me.”

Donghyuck offered him the matcha one and Sicheng took it with a smile. Then he handed Renjun the milk tea and sat by his side.

“Today in Precalc we were talking about next semester electives, and one of them is the basics of mechanics. Renjun told me you are a mechanical engineer, how do you like it?”

Renjun sat there, for 35 minutes, watching them speak without producing a sound, before realizing it was getting late and Sicheng could lose his reservation.

“Do you want us to take you to the hotel?”

“What do you mean?,” Donghyuck asked. “Aren’t you staying with us?”

“I bet his company is paying for his hotel, and he won’t be comfortable here.”

“Well, no. Since I asked for some days off they said they couldn’t book a hotel room if the flights didn’t coincide with the arriving and departing days, since they only cover working days. I got first class, although, to make up for it, so I’m not mad because the champagne was really good. Anyways, did you know you have to make a reservation with 3 months of anticipation to avoid being charged a fucking lot?”

“You can stay with us.” This time, Renjun could perfectly start talking without thinking. “If you haven’t paid already.” 

“I only made a deposit. I can get half of it back if I get there before the check-in hour.”

“Great, let’s call an Uber then.”

They had to fight the manager because according to him, it was past 5. Luckily Siri got their backs saying it was 4:57 and Sicheng got his money. 

There was some traffic on the way home so they got there almost at 7. None of them wanted to cook dinner so they decided to eat cereal while watching Netflix. Renjun wasn’t paying attention. He had already seen Anne with an E half a dozen times, and he was more worried about the sleeping situation. His brother probably expected him to sleep with his “boyfriend”; on the other hand, he didn’t even ask Donghyuck if it was okay for Sicheng to stay. Maybe he should sneak out in the middle of the night and sleep on the sofa.

When Sicheng got up to go to the bathroom Donghyuck leaned over Renjun, smiling very close to his face.

“You aren’t thinking about telling your brother to sleep here, are you?” 

“What? No. I’m thinking about sleeping myself here.”

“Don’t be stupid. I’ll share my bed with you. We’ll sleep like little kids in pajamas parties, with each other’s feet on the face.”

“Oh! How romantic.”

He winked and moved away when Sicheng came back.

“I relate to Anne so much.”

Renjun smiled.

It was only 11 when they decided they were too sleepy and wanted to go to sleep. Donghyuck went to his room to find their extra pillows and blankets to give them to Sicheng so Renjun could sleep with his. Meanwhile, they cleaned the kitchen and the living.

Being awkward with his brother was new for Renjun, and it was getting annoying.

“Listen, I-”

Sicheng smiled, scrunching his nose.

“It seems like Donghyuck is a great guy.”

“He is.”

“I’m glad you found him, then.”

“Junnie, do you want me to move your things to my room?” Donghyuck voice wasn’t as loud as it always was. 

Renjun bit his lip and nodded.

“Me too.”

Renjun couldn’t sleep much. Donghyuck slept like a rock, and it surprised him how comfortable he was with having someone in his bed. It was the first time they shared a bed ever and Renjun spent the whole night wondering why Donghyuck’s room was cozier than his. 

In the morning Donghyuck woke up earlier than him, whispered in his ear he was going out to run and he replied something among the lines of “hmmm”.

“Why do you sleep with your head towards the door, _Junnie_? Isn’t it scary?”

Renjun looked at the doorway. Sicheng was standing there staring at him. He smiled as he scratched his eyes.

“I want to face a serial killer like this when they come for me.”

“Understandable.” 

He giggled and rolled to sit in his ankles. He glanced at Donghyuck digital clock. No one but Donghyuck owned a clock, that was what phones were for. 

8:45

“Want to have brunch?”

“It’s too early for brunch.”

“Yeah, but we can have lunch later. No one has to know.”

Sicheng rolled his eyes, hiding the smile drawing in his face.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Donghyuck?”

“He’s got class. Maybe we’ll meet him at lunch. We can bring him buns, he likes those.”

Sicheng furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. Renjun smiled and got out of bed putting on his slippers.

“Whatever you say, weirdo.” Renjun took his phone from the nightstand and walked out of the room, leading Sicheng to the corridor. “May I use your bathroom? I would like to take a shower.”

“Of course you can, idiot. _Mi casa es su casa._ ”

Sicheng smiled.

Donghyuck didn’t go home for lunch, so Sicheng treated his brother to Mexican food. Renjun offered to miss class and stay home to spend time with him, but he refused and made him leave home way earlier than ever. 

On his way to the campus, his phone started ringing. He answered as he bowed to the security guards at the entrance and they smiled at him.

_“Hey, are you home now? I’m sorry for not making it at lunch.”_

“I left early, I have class in 20. Were you busy?”

_“I was working on a team project with some idiots Mrs. Parker grouped with me.”_

“Sounds great, are you going home now?”

_“In a while. I have to study and I’m not sure if Sicheng minds me not speaking to him for a while.”_

“He said he was going to meet a friend, I think he’s out until night. Thank you for worrying.”

_“It’s called common decency, Huang.”_

“I don’t care how you call it, it’s still nice from you. By the way, I left blueberries buns in the microwave for you.”

_“Now, that’s nice of you. Thanks, have fun at school.”_

Donghyuck’s legs were cold. Two blankets separated him from Renjun and he could still feel them freezing his arms. 

It was 3 am, the light was off and Renjun knew they were both wide awake.

“Why didn’t you close the door after you left?” 

Renjun could have sworn he heard him smile.

“I never close my door, I forgot you were here.”

Donghyuck’s voice was merely a whisper, but it was completely clear, and Renjun liked how he matched his tone. 

“You said bye to me.”

He didn’t answer. Renjun focused on how their breaths were synchronized.

“Having a guest is so expensive.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to buy food for us. He’s my brother.”

“And I’m your fake boyfriend.” Renjun snorted and rolled his eyes, despite them being able to see each other. “That’s not what I meant. You’re my friend and Sicheng is your family, I don’t mind spending money in you. It’s just that I never realized how weird is having someone visit you when you’re responsible for your household.”

“Growing up is so strange.”

“I like growing up. It brought me to this place. I met you.”

“Growing up gave me the best roommate I could’ve have asked for.”

“Ew, Renjun. That’s disgusting.”

“How is it more disgusting than what you said?”

Donghyuck turned to his side.

“Go to sleep.”

When his alarm rang at 6 Renjun regretted staying up playing Mario Kart until 2 AM. Donghyuck cursed him and laughing he kissed his cheek. Donghyuck tried hitting him but Renjun had already walked away. 

He went to the bathroom and took a shower, he walked in his room hoping not to disturb his brother, just to find him sitting in bed, reading one of his comics.

"What are you up to?"

"What are _you_ up to? It's a Saturday and you've showered before 7."

Renjun opened his drawer and took out a t-shirt and some boxers, he also grabbed a pair of jeans of a chair and looked around to find some sneakers.

"I've got work. Bills don't pay themselves."

"Do you start at- don't get dressed in front of me!"

"Close your eyes!"

"Why don't you dress in your boyfriend's room?"

"I'm already here, no?"

"It's like we've never left home."

Renjun giggled at his brother covering his face with his hands while he finished putting on his clothes.

"What time does your seminar start?"

"At 10."

"Will you come for lunch?"

"No, I'm there all day."

"Okay, then we’ll see each other at night."

"Great."

Renjun walked towards Sicheng and moved his hands from his eyes. 

"Call me if you need anything."

Sicheng smiled.

"Never thought I would see my little brother taking care of me."

"Times change, man."

Renjun walked out of the room and bumped into Donghyuck, who looked way too tired to be up.

"Good morning, baby. Slept nice?" Donghyuck produced a sarcastic "ha, ha" and Renjun laughed. "Do you mind making Sicheng breakfast later?"

"Of course, darling. Now hurry if you don't want to be late."

He took his chin and kissed his lips. Renjun wondered if Sicheng could see them from that angle. 

"Thank you, I'll see you later."

Work was tiring, as always. But some kid gifted Renjun a drawing of them as pirates and it made it worth it.

The bus was less crowded than normal, so he could find a seat on his way home, and after a half an hour he got off and walked to his building. 

The sight of Mark sitting on the floor while Jaemin laid on the floor welcomed him to his apartment. 

“Hey.” 

Jaemin put his hands up and moved his fingers, Mark was about to get up to greet him but Renjun shook his head to stop him.

“Your _boyfriend_ is in the kitchen.”

“Thank you, guys.”

He walked to the kitchen, where Donghyuck was sitting on the counter and eating a popsicle.

“You’re such a good friend.”

He snorted.

“This was the last one and they haven’t even noticed I’m taking too long to get them a drink.” Renjun snatched his ice pop and Donghyuck frowned watching him take a bit of it. “You’re terrifying.” He smiled and gave it back.

“Do you want to eat out tonight?,” Renjun asked, taking a jar with ice tea out of the fridge. He filled the vases Donghyuck had already put on the table. 

“I was thinking maybe we could go clubbing tonight?”

“It sounds nice, but I don’t want to be moody tomorrow due to lack of sleep, the kids were angels today. Also, I think it could be a big day for Sicheng so no, we have to be at bed early and get good sleep.”

Donghyuck covered his mouth with hands and murmured:

“But that’s why I told the guys to come over.”

“Tell them to come over tomorrow, we can go out then.”

“I won’t tell them to go away and come back tomorrow, we’re not bureaucrats.”

“I didn’t mean that and you know it!”

“Troubles in paradise?,” Jaemin screamed from the living.

“Shut up!” Donghyuck was laughing out loud and Renjun flicked him. “They can stay, we can watch a movie and order some food. We’ll go out tomorrow, with them. Sicheng likes Mark.”

“He likes Mark? He barely knew me before he came to visit us.”

“Well, Mark’s been to our house.”

“He’s been to your house? Why wasn’t I informed? What kind of relationship is this?”

Renjun rolled his eyes.

“You’re already finished.” He took the colored stick in Donghyuck’s hand and threw it to the trash can. “Go give your friends the drinks you promised an hour ago.”

“They are your friends!”

“Jaemin, I think our parents are getting a divorce.”

Getting ready while listening to Sicheng talking about how cool the conferences were was an interesting experience, to say the least. Donghyuck was too busy asking him questions to call their friends, so Renjun had to ring Mark, Jaemin, and even Jeno, who Donghyuck decided to invite last minute. None of them were on time.

Renjun was exhausted, and he thought about staying home, but Sicheng was excited about going out and Donghyuck was incredibly annoying, so he couldn't say no to them.

“Why are neither of you wearing socks?” 

Both his brother and roommate ignored him. Renjun breathed heavily, he walked to the living and opened the door, just to let himself fall on the couch afterwards. Mark and Jeno came through the door a couple of minutes later and he had to move to let Mark sit.

“How come I didn’t know you well? You’re friends with everybody.”

Jeno smiled and shook his head.

“I’ve been told you’re absent-minded.”

“Who’s called me absent-minded?”

“Donghyuck,” Jeno and Mark said in unison.

Renjun left out a disconcerted “huh”.

“Guys do you know how long the queue is gonna be when we get there?”

Mark snorted.

“You’re not the one to speak, Na. Not when you just walked in.”

“I took my chance.” 

As Jaemin predicted, the line was long. It was almost midnight and they were waiting for an extremely tall and bald man to let them in the club.

Donghyuck had his head in Renjun shoulder’s and his hands in his pockets. Renjun felt his breath warm in his neck.

“Does any of you got class at 7 tomorrow?” Sicheng was already feeling like he had to babysit all of them.

“I do,” Jeno said. “But fuck statistics.”

Sicheng raised an eyebrow and Renjun tensed up.

"You know Sicheng's chill, calm down."

"I don’t want him to have the wrong idea of us.”

“If he wants to dislike your friends he will find a reason, even if we don’t give him any.” Renjun was about to push him away, but Donghyuck kissed his cheek and separated himself from him. “And he won’t because he’s your brother and he loves you.”

Mark looked at them with a smile and Renjun elbowed him. Jaemin laughed and walked towards Donghyuck to speak to him.

Renjun went to Jeno and Sicheng, who discussed if maths were determining, and smiled at them.

“Okay, but listen, is physics important?”

The two of them looked at him, looked at each other, pronounced an unamused “yes, it is,” and continued talking to each other.

“Rude.”

“Serves you good,” Mark said, putting his arm around Renjun’s shoulders. “You doing good, buddy?”

Renjun nodded and sighed.

Inside, Renjun instantly regretted putting on long sleeves. He should’ve used his common sense and thought about how feeling comfortable was more important than looking good, but in his defense, he looked bomb.

Jaemin knew one of the waiters and he helped them find a table faster than what they expected. One they all got to sit down they all ordered drinks and some chips. Choosing a place in a walking distance from their apartment meant they all got to consume alcohol. And it was honestly something Renjun needed. He spent the last weeks worrying about school and the fact that he had to lie to his brother just because he had lied to his mother first. 

“Intoxicating yourself is a horrible way to forget your stress.” 

Every time Donghyuck would speak in his ear, Renjun’s spine would shiver. He faked a smile and drank in one gulp his shot of tequila.

“Is it bad that just now I realized how bad for our budget it is coming here?”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and moved away from him.

“Capitalism wants you to feel guilty about having fun.”

“I’ll drink to that!,” Mark said, raising his beer and deciding that finishing it at once was way more interesting than what Jeno was saying to him.

Jeno made them all go dance like girls in a sweet sixteen party, Mark refused, saying his feet were hurting, just to go dance with him sometime later. 

Renjun liked how Sicheng tried to get along with his friends because he knew he probably found them dumb, or weird, or immature; but he was genuinely interested in them, because they were his friends, and it made him feel grateful for him.

Donghyuck took him by the wrist and pulled him aside.

“You look happy.”

“I am releasing a bunch of endorphins right now.”

“That’s great.”

Renjun smiled, just before Donghyuck pushed him lightly towards the rest of his friends, initiating a bunch of curse words directed at Renjun and a burst of loud laughter from him.

When they went back to the table they spent a while talking about nothing, then seeing who could finish a determined amount of shot faster, and then when everyone was getting quite Jaemin left to dance with some stranger, Sicheng and Mark went to the counter just to look at the bartender doing cocktails, and Jeno and Renjun started discussing the DJ’s music taste.

Donghyuck was enjoying just sitting there, drinking from his sangria fishbowl, and watching everyone doing embarrassing stuff. Renjun noticed how quiet he was being and scrunched his nose.

“Hyuckie, if you want to dance with someone cute you should do so, I swear I’m not a jealous boyfriend.”

Donghyuck smiled and shook his head.

“No, but your brother will probably feel better if he doesn’t see me being touchy with someone else.”

“So would it be better if you were touchy with me?”

Jeno coughed, scratched the back of his head, and squinted his eyes.

“What is going on here?”

“Would you like to dance, Renjun?”

“Okay, I’m out.” 

Jeno got up and walked to the bar. As Renjun and Donghyuck both had already a foot on the dance floor, they had just given up not only their table but also the bottles of alcohol they had not touched yet. 

“I would love to.”

Donghyuck smiled, Renjun got up offering him a hand and Donghyuck took it to follow him through the people rubbing their bodies all over the place.

The music was loud, the light effects were dazzling and Donghyuck’s arms around Renjun’s waist felt electrizing.

“You look great tonight.”

“Thanks, you do too.”

“That’s what I hoped for, I spent a long time getting ready.”

Renjun giggled.

“Yes, you did.”

Maybe it was Rihanna’s singing about love, maybe it was Donghyuck’s perfume, maybe it was just the alcohol he had consumed, but when Renjun kissed Donghyuck and he responded, he decided on the spot that he liked the taste of his lips. They moved around, pushing people out of their way until Donghyuck’s back met with a wall. Soon their hands were all over each other, their breaths were heavy and the phone ringing on Donghyuck’s back pocket was almost irrelevant. Except it wasn’t. 

Donghyuck smiled, left a kiss on Renjun’s chin, and moved him away.

“I think it’s time for us to go,” he said showing him 3 missed calls from Jaemin, one from Mark and 2 from Sicheng.

“Shit, I think my phone is silent.”

“I hope they don’t kill us,” he said laughing and ringing Mark’s number.

Renjun sighed, following Donghyuck, who was trying to hear what their friend was saying on the phone.

Waking up the next morning wasn’t fun. Renjun’s phone rang at 8, Ten wanted him to meet him at office in an hour to discuss something about the proposal they were going to make to the radio station. Taking the call without waking Sicheng up was challenging. 

He got out of his room and walked through the corridor to get to the kitchen, as he needed a good cup of coffee. Donghyuck’s room was open, Mark and Donghyuck slept in the bed with each other’s feet on the face. He giggled and glared at Jeno, who was asleep on a mattress on the floor.

In the living, Jaemin was laying down on the sofa looking at his phone with a disgusted look.

“I got a 45 in my chemistry midterm.”

“Congrats.”

Jaemin faked a laugh and scratched his eyes.

“I thought you didn’t have class today.”

“I don’t.”

“Work?”

Renjun nodded, as he looked through his notifications, he had a bunch of texts from Mark, from the night before. Most of them asking why he and Donghyuck were kissing as if their life depended on it.

“They don’t even pay me why do I have to be accommodating?”

“Because you’re a responsible man.”

“Yeah, that’s why.” 

Jaemin smiled and put his phone aside.

“My head hurts so bad.”

“Do you want some coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

When he got back home a few hours later, just to pick up his stuff and go to class, the house was empty and a note was attached to his bedroom’s door.

_The fuckers already left, Sicheng and I went to buy something for lunch, so you’ll have something to eat when you come back from class._

He smiled and put the note on his bed, he took his backpack, put in it a notebook, his tablet, and his empty water bottle. iPhone’s Marimba ringtone started sounding, Renjun was about to pick up his phone, but it wasn’t it. Sicheng left his in the nightstand. He looked over, _Kun-heart-emoji_. He let it ring, and when the call was sent to voicemail the phone’s screen showed it was already his third call. So when it got a new one call Renjun picked up. 

One would think if _Kun-heart-emoji_ left that many calls on his brother’s phone it was for an important reason.

“Hi?”

“Oh, you’re not Sicheng. Is he around?”

“He’s out buying food.”

“Is this Renjun?”

“Why do you know my name?”

“I guess he hasn’t told you. Please tell him I called if you see him.”

“Uhm, sure. Have a good day.”

“You too! It was nice to finally talk to you...”

He hung up, before listening to any other thing _Kun-heart-emoji_ had to say. Renjun stared at Sicheng’s phone, now realizing his wallpaper was a man’s hand with an engagement ring.

He took a nibbled pencil that was lying on the floor and the used post-it on the bed and wrote the words “Kun called” on the clean side of it, before leaving it on top of Sicheng’s phone.

Needless to say, Renjun couldn’t focus for the rest of the day. He kept thinking about the reasons he could’ve given Sicheng to not tell him he was seeing someone who he loved so much he was going to propose. Right, he never told him about Donghyuck, but in his defense, their relationship was a lie based on a cheap Switch, his brother was getting married and he didn’t tell him about it.

“You’ve been frowning for two hours straight.”

He drew a quick smile in his face and his classmate rolled his eyes.

“Can we leave already?”

He received a series of “I guess” and took it as enough confirmation. After all the lecturer had already taken attendance.

He decided he didn’t want to go home to have lunch. It was 3:30 already, and his brother might have been out doing who knew what kind of stuff, but he wasn’t risking it. 

His actual shift started at 4:30, so he decided to have Subway for lunch, as it was on his way from campus to office, it was a long walk, but he didn’t want to pay for public transport as he was spending money on food when he already had at home.

As soon as he got out of the classroom he put his AirPods on, pressed play on Spotify, and started walking.

Ten had good news, as he had a great response from their clients regarding their proposal, they only suggested some changes and Renjun started working on them right after Ten was done telling him about the meeting.

When Renjun already had to delete three times a layer because he couldn’t get the shape straight, his sight began blurring out and his nose was starting running.

“Renjun, are you alright?” He opened his mouth but he couldn’t form a sentence. Just as Renjun started crying Ten left his things in the table. “Oh, baby.”

He walked around their desk and hugged him.

“Do you think I’m self-centered?”

“What?”

“Am I difficult to talk to?”

“Renjun...”

He put his arms around Ten’s waist and buried his face in his t-shirt, covering it in a mix of tears, eyeliner, and snots.

“I made this shirt last month.”

“I’m so sorry I’ll make you a new one.”

“It’s okay. That’s very thoughtful of you.” Renjun hummed and Ten petted his hair. “Because you’re kind, and everyone is thrilled about having you in their lives.”

“You’re only saying it because you’re my friend.”

“And I’m your friend because you’re an amazing person.”

“Ugh, that’s so cheesy.”

“I swear I would murder you if you weren’t crying.”

Renjun got home at 9. He had texted Donghyuck telling him he wouldn’t drop off after class and asked him to save him some food so he could reheat it at night. The apartment was completely silent. Donghyuck was studying in the dining table and Sicheng was probably in his room. Renjun greeted his roommate with a little ‘hey’ and went straight to the kitchen. His stomach was growling.

He served rice, orange chicken, stirred mushrooms, and boiled broccolis in a plate and put in the microwave. He started boiling water to make tea and as he waited he ate standing there, washed the dishes, and when bubbles started coming out he took a cup and served himself the beverage.

He walked to the dining and sat in front of Donghyuck.

“The food was nice, thank you.”

He didn’t look up from his book before answering.

“Your brother cooked.” Renjun nodded and took a sip of his chamomile tea. “You have swollen eyes, by the way.”

“I have allergies.”

“It’s not spring.”

Renjun sighed, putting the cup in the table, which didn’t have a cupholder, and would probably make Donghyuck mad.

“Do you know anything, Donghyuck?”

“Yes.” Renjun raised an eyebrow and Donghyuck clicked his tongue. “I learned about it today. I was not hiding anything from you.”

“Do you think it is okay? Would you not tell your family you’re engaged?”

“I would not hide from them a relationship. But I also wouldn’t fake one in front of them.”

“This is nowhere similar!” 

“Lower your voice, I’m not screaming at you.” Renjun rolled his eyes and pursed his lips. “Look, I’m not saying it was okay, but he could have his reasons. And I’d call you an asshole too if you’d ask me. This whole thing was not okay.”

“Do not come in acting like a moralist. You agreed to do this. You’re just as bad as I am.”

“Renjun, just, talk to your brother, please.”

“You’re not my boyfriend, and you won’t tell me what to do.”

Renjun cried again when he went to bed and all he could hear was Donghyuck’s soft breathing. His back was against his legs and some hours passed since he last talked to him.

“Are you awake?” He didn’t answer, and his chest started hurting. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. You’re not my boyfriend but you’re my friend, and I’m grateful for everything you do for me.”

There was silence, and then Donghyuck rolled to lay in his back.

“I shouldn’t have called you an asshole.”

“But you weren’t wrong. I’m an asshole. Being mad at my brother isn’t a pass to treat bad my fake boyfriend. And I know this was fucked up and I’m telling my mom everything when I see her.”

“That’s great.”

“Can you forgive me?”

“Of course I can.” He sat up and bent over Renjun. He caressed his cheeks, getting rid of his tears and pulling up his lips to make him smile. Renjun snorted. “Now stop crying, can you? It breaks my heart, and it’s also really pathetic.”

Renjun nodded, wondering if the lack of light made his blush less obvious. Donghyuck smiled. 

The next day Renjun had classes since very early in the morning. He kissed Donghyuck’s forehead before coming out of his room and received a giggle as a response.

He went to the kitchen to have breakfast, since being hungry made him unproductive and Donghyuck bought a pre-made waffle mix the day before. Sicheng came out of his room when he was eating on the table.

“Good morning.”

“There are waffles on the kitchen.” 

Sicheng nodded and smiled, before entering the kitchen to serve himself a plate. Sicheng came back with a cup of coffee and 3 waffles, they ate without looking at each other or talking at all. When Renjun finished he stood up, picked up his dishes, and as he was about to walk to the kitchen Sicheng called his name.

“I’ll clean the dishes. Leave them here and go get ready for school.”

“I’ll be in my room for a little.”

“Okay.”

“Also, I’m not dating Donghyuck.”

“I’ve heard last night.”

“Don’t tell mom, I want to do it myself.”

“It’s okay, Junnie. You can trust me. I promise.”

Renjun breathed hard and turned around, before telling him something that could hurt any of them.

Renjun felt much calmer that day. He did good in class, and he used the free time he had while his professor was answering dumb questions to think about his situation. He thought Sicheng was wrong for what he did, but everyone made mistakes, and their bond wasn’t going to break over that.

Not being trusted by his brother was heartbreaking, but it made him realize he was not close enough with his family. Starting that day he was texting his mother every day to know how she was doing, face-timing home every time he had the chance, and calling both his grandmothers every weekend. His relationships with other people were the only thing he had. His friends were also amazing, and he had to be more grateful for that.

When class finished he went to a bakery, he knew not to go to the closest to the campus, as they were snakes and charged a lot for the simplest of cookies. He had to use google to find out which place to go, and was content with the result, as it was a small shop owned by a young and cheerful couple of lesbians. 

He purchased a tiny heart-shaped sponge cake and asked them to cover it in buttercream and write “ _I’m sorry I’m a douchebag :(_ ”. The women wished him luck and gifted him chocolate bonbons.

He went back home, walking as fast as his heart skipped, suddenly remembering Sicheng was leaving that night and hoping he was at home and he didn’t go to have lunch somewhere else.

Fortunately, his brother was sitting in the living playing with his switch. Renjun smiled and dropped his bag on the floor.

“Hi.”

“You’re sweating.”

“I-”

Sicheng got up and pounced on him. Renjun screamed and moved away, putting the cake in a safe place and hugging Sicheng after his hands were free.

“I will not hide anything from you ever again. I’m sorry. I love you. I promise I will tell you everything about Kun, please don’t be mad at me.”

“Sicheng, it’s okay. I love you. I’m not mad.”

“Are you sure?”

“I just wanna know why. Will you please tell me?”

“Sit down.” Renjun obeyed, handing Sicheng the cake and making him beam. “Okay, I want you to be understanding.”

“I will.”

“I met Kun six months ago yesterday.” Renjun tilted his head and bit his lips. “That’s why he was calling me yesterday.”

“How did you two meet?”

Sicheng scratched his neck and sighed.

“I met him at the GYM.” Renjun raised an eyebrow. “We started dating a week into meeting.”

Renjun took his hands to his face and stayed silent for a moment, processing what his brother just told him.

“When did you ask him to marry you?”

“Three months ago.” Renjun had to remind himself he said he’d be understanding. He let Sicheng keep talking. “I know you’re skeptical about love. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“You met someone. And three months after you asked them to marry you. Okay.”

“Renjun, I promise you, if I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with Kun I wouldn’t have proposed to him.”

“When will you get married?”

“One of the reasons I accepted to come here when my boss asked me was because I wanted to talk to you about it. I wanted you to know about it before I actually take a step into it. I’m moving in with Kun when I go back home. And if in six months we feel the same way about each other as we do now, we will marry on our anniversary.”

“That is a really good and mature idea. I feel so bad that you couldn't tell me about it, I’m not skeptical about love, if you do love Kun as you’ve never loved someone else, then I wish for you to feel the same way for the rest of your life.”

“Watching you with Donghyuck gave me a different idea of you. But knowing you’re not involved with each other is so shocking.”

Renjun scrunched his nose and smiled.

“Wait, you were being cynical about Donghyuck and me because of Kun and you?” Sicheng nodded. Renjun smiled “You’re evil.”

Renjun and Sicheng decided to go out to have lunch in a nice place. Donghyuck was nowhere to be seen, so Renjun rang his phone about 6 times before getting a callback.

“Why do you have a phone if you’re not answering it?” Donghyuck laughed and Renjun rolled his eyes. “Are you coming for lunch?”

_“I’m sorry, I’m not having lunch at home.”_

Renjun drew a frown in his face and Sicheng chuckled.

“Oh. But are you coming with me to drop Sicheng at the airport?”

_“Of course.”_

A familiar voice called Donghyuck and he whined in response.

_“You said we were not using our phones.”_

“Are you with someone right now?”

 _“I’m actually on a date with Jungwoo right now.”_ Renjun became silent instantaneously. _“I mean, it is okay, right?”_ Renjun hummed. _“He asked me out last week and I didn’t think it was okay for me to go out with someone while Sicheng thought I was dating you. But Sicheng told me this morning he knew everything so I texted Jungwoo to tell him I was available now, and he wanted to see me today so, yeah. He says hi._ ”

“Tell him to stop being mean to Jaemin.”

_“He’s always mean to me first!”_

Renjun let out a laugh and said bye to Donghyuck before hanging up. Sicheng looked at him raising his eyebrows and Renjun smiled.

“He’s busy.”

“I can see that. Is something wrong?”

“Why would it be?” Sicheng shrugged and Renjun looked away. “He’s in a date if that’s what you mean.”

“Renjun, I don’t mean to be noisy or anything.”

Renjun smirked.

“You don’t mean to, but you are.”

“What I’m trying to say is, perhaps you’re not happy with the fact that Donghyuck is in a date right now.”

“Well, I am not.” Renjun scrunched his eyebrows. “I mean, I’m not saying we had _something_ going on but I just…”

Sicheng started laughing, Renjun kicked him. 

“You like Donghyuck!”

“Shut up! I don’t!”

“Yes, you do!”

He ran towards him and Renjun screamed, pushing him away before he could put his arms around him and carry him.

“Okay, stop.” Renjun breathed heavily and Sicheng stared at him. “I don’t know if I like him. Fine? I started feeling weird around him these past days. And when we made out in the club...” Sicheng raised an eyebrow. He ignored him as he was sure he saw them their night out. “It felt nice.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t had time to act on those feelings because I had a lot on my mind. And now, I think Donghyuck doesn’t need to know about them, you know?”

“Renjun, I don’t know how Donghyuck feels about you, but I want you to have this in mind for a second: he could’ve gone on a date any time if I was an obstacle you could’ve come up with an excuse; he wasn’t here for every second I’ve been here, right? I’m not saying he’s got a thing for you, but maybe, just maybe, he felt weird about you, too, and he didn’t want to ignore that by going out with someone else.”

“Then why did he call him back as soon as he could?”

Sicheng patted Renjun’s head. Renjun sticked out his tounge.

“I’m not saying I was listening to you two fight, because I am not in any matter, a noisy bitch. But I think I heard, and I’m quoting you ‘ _you’re not my boyfriend, and you won’t tell me what to do.’_ ”

“But wasn’t that the case? I was just mad, that’s it.”

“You were putting an end to it, your fake relationship. He might’ve felt hurt. I don’t know. You kids are too weird.”

Renjun’s eyes opened wide. His chest became heavy.

“Oh, God. You’re right.” Sicheng’s smirk wouldn’t go away and Renjun felt so much like hitting him. “Can we go have lunch before I stab you or myself with a toothbrush?”

“If Donghyuck doesn’t want you being terrifying may be one of the reasons.”

Renjun could think of many other reasons why Donghyuck could not want him, and he scrunched his nose wondering if he liked Jungwoo for the reasons he didn’t like him.

Sicheng asked Renjun to go with him to the mall, so he could buy their family something before going home.

As they chose a phone case for Kun, Renjun looked through the accessories wondering if their mother would like any of those things, considering Sicheng had bought her a necklace.

“If I buy them something I’m going to be in a budget as soon as you leave.”

Sicheng smiled.

“Renjun our parents are rich, they couldn’t care less about whether you spend money or not in them. Send them a letter or something.”

Renjun tilted his head.

“You could be onto something.”

Sicheng rolled his eyes. 

“I’m gonna pay this stuff and then we’ll go eat something, okay?”

Renjun nodded, indicating with his hands that he was going to wait outside the store.

“Why do you have a phone if you’re not going to answer your texts?”

Renjun smiled and turned to face Donghyuck, who was watching him with a smile.

“Were they even delivered? I didn’t pay for data this month.”

“Sorry, I don’t speak broke.”

“You use free wifi, you’re no better than me.” Donghyuck chuckled and put his hands in his back pockets. “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to call you to ask where you were so we could meet up but I saw Sicheng’s Instagram stories and knew you were around so I came here after I finished having lunch.”

“How did that went?”

“Well, Jungwoo is indeed very cute and we’d make a hot couple, but he’s not over Doyoung’s ass, so I told him to talk to him.”

Renjun tried his best to hide his smile.

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Not really, I like someone else.”

“Oh, word?” 

Renjun was surprised to see Donghyuck feel ashamed for the first time since they met. He lowered his sight and coughed.

“I’m afraid so, yeah.”

“Oh, Donghyuck, I’m glad to meet you here! Want to have crepes with us?”

Donghyuck pinched Renjun’s cheek and smiled at Sicheng. 

“Yes, I would like that.”

Renjun frowned, following his brother and his roommate to the food court.

Sicheng forgot to do check-in online, so he had to be in the airport before they thought. As he left his luggage home, Donghyuck offered to go home to pick it up and meet them at the airport, but Renjun thought it was abusing his trust, so he asked him to go with Sicheng to the airport and wait for him there.

He tried to clear his mind by listening to music, but thinking about Donghyuck’s face made his heart pump erratic. He tried to not look dumb while he rode the Uber on his way from home, but he caught himself smiling in the rear-view mirror and the driver laughing at his daydreaming.

It took him less than he expected to get to the airport, and once he got the suitcase out of the car he rang Sicheng’s numbe4. Donghyuck answered for him.

“Why are you everywhere?”

_“I’m loved by many.”_

Renjun snorted and entered the terminal.

“Where are you?”

_“We’re by the boarding zone near the Starbucks.”_

_“_ Great, I’ll see you in a second.”

5 minutes later he was passing Sicheng his belongings, and asking him in everything was in place for him to leave.

“Are you relieved I’m finally going?”

Donghyuck giggled and Renjun pushed him away.

“Of course I don’t. I liked having you here.”

“Thank you for treating me so well.”

“You’re my brother. I just hope you had a nice stay and won’t tell mom anything bad about us.”

“I trust you!,” Donghyuck said getting closer to them.

“I hope I see you soon, guys.”

“Are you sure you want us to go now? We can wait until they call your flight.”

Sicheng nodded, drawing a big smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’ll get in the passengers waiting room, they have free drinks and comfortable seats there.”

Donghyuck groaned, resting his head in Renjun’s shoulder.

“He prefers the VIP room over us, how does that make you feel, Junnie?”

Renjun sighed and rested his head on top of Donghyuck’s.

“Terrible, Hyuckie. I’ve never been so upset before.”

Sicheng smiled at them.

“You guys are seriously so cute together.”

Donghyuck’s breath stopped for a second and Renjun choked up.

“Have a nice flight!”

Renjun and Donghyuck straightened up and turned around to start walking.

“Come give me a hug, you dipshits!”

Renjun bit his lip and Donghyuck nudged him towards his brother. Renjun smiled before wrapping his arms around him. Sicheng giggled and took Donghyuck’s arm to hug him too.

When Donghyuck and Renjun got home, Donghyuck went straight to his room to put on his pajamas and Renjun went to the kitchen to start cooking instant noodles. He was cutting chives when Donghyuck walked in.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Wait for a second, the ramen is boiling.”

“Renjun.”

“I’m almost done-”

Donghyuck clicked his tongue, snatched the knife from Renjun’s hand, and put it away. He grabbed his roommate by the wrist and made him turn around.

“I promise you, ramen can wait.”

Renjun swallowed, Donghyuck smelled like his favorite facial soap.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“I like you, Renjun. And I know you like me too, but I want you to tell me.”

“It’s really narcissist of you to assume I like you.”

“So you don’t?” Renjun looked away and Donghyuck smiled, stepping away. “Fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

“I like you too, Donghyuck.” He shortened the distance between them. “I really want to kiss you right now, can I?”

He answered by meeting their lips together. Renjun’s whole body was trembling.

Donghyuck smiled, leaving a peck on his lips and outlining his jaw with his fingertips. Renjun opened his eyes, meeting Donghyuck’s shiny gaze.

“Be my boyfriend.”

“I’d love to.” 

Renjun brushed Donghyuck’s hair, a chuckle escaping his lips.

“What are you thinking about, baby?”

Nothing sounded better than Donghyuck’s voice calling him pet names.

“I don’t have to tell my mom we’re not dating.” Donghyuck kissed his nose. “And also I think we should move to a place with only a room.”

“Yeah, we could do that.”


End file.
